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Nebraska Business Welcomes Seven New Faculty Members

Academic Hires Help to Further College's Mission
Nebraska Business Welcomes Seven New Faculty Members
Seven new faculty members joined the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business for the 2022-23 academic year. The new faculty bring a wealth of expertise in economics, finance, marketing, management and supply chain management.

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Business added seven new faculty members for the 2022-23 academic year. Since the opening of Howard L. Hawks Hall, faculty composition changed significantly with nearly 50 new faculty members joining the college to drive discovery, create opportunity and empower individuals to lead the future of business.

“I am thrilled to welcome these seven new faculty members into the Nebraska Business community. They bring a depth of expertise in several fields of business, including economics, finance, marketing, management, and supply chain management and analytics,” said Kathy Farrell, James Jr. and Susan Stuart Endowed Dean and professor of finance. "We eagerly await the positive impact they will have in their teaching, research and service."

Wesley Boyce, assistant professor of practice in supply chain management and analytics and program director of master of science in supply chain management

Wesley Boyce earned his Ph.D. in business administration with an emphasis in logistics and supply chain management from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. He holds research interests in supply chain management, logistics, and transportation with a specific interest in supply chain relationships and external costs of logistics.

“Wesley Boyce comes to the College of Business with years of teaching experience in the areas of supply chain management and analytics, including at other Big Ten colleges of business. Now more than ever, both business analytics and supply chain management are areas of critical national need. Wesley has a unique ability to teach courses in both areas in a manner that is both technically rigorous and well-received by the working professionals enrolled in the MBA, M.S. and graduate certificate programs,” said Jennifer Ryan, department chair and professor of supply chain management and analytics and Van Horne Family Endowed Chair.

Prior to joining Nebraska, he served as a lecturer at the University of Iowa, where he taught courses in operations, supply chain management and business analytics. With more than 10 years teaching statistics, operations and supply-chain related topics, Boyce brings a focus on creating a professional learning environment for students.

“The primary goal in my teaching role is to do my best to create courses that can help students learn and expand their horizons. I want students to understand the material being covered in the courses, but I also want to do my part to help prepare students for the working world,” he said. “I also want to continue my own learning by remaining engaged in my field and continuing to stay involved in activities beyond teaching, such as research.”

Bingkuan (Bryan) Cao, assistant professor of finance

Bingkuan (Bryan) Cao earned his Ph.D. in finance from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, where he also earned his Master of Finance. He holds teaching experience in quantitative financial analysis where he led an undergraduate-level instruction on asset pricing theory, econometrics (linear models) and programming (R).

“My area of expertise compliments well with other finance faculty at Nebraska. I also believe I can contribute new perspectives to students to help them better understand many finance topics. My research in portfolio management can equip students with the right tools to manage their long-term wealth and prepare them for their forthcoming careers,” Cao said.

Cao’s current research pertains to the information content in portfolio holdings and how it affects investors’ capital allocations. He is also researching the performance attribution of bond mutual funds.

“Bryan’s research interests align well with the members of our department. We are excited to have him join as an assistant professor,” said Richard DeFusco, department chair and professor of finance.

Christopher Harris, assistant professor of practice in management

Christopher Harris joins the college after serving as an associate professor at the College of Business at Texas Woman’s University in Denton. He earned his Ph.D. in human resource management and organizational behavior from the University of Texas at Arlington, and he holds certifications in Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP).

“I am originally from Nebraska, and this is a great opportunity to work at the flagship university of my home state. With the opportunity to work with highly accomplished faculty in the Department of Management and the College of Business, I hope to continue to grow as a teacher and scholar and help to educate and develop future business leaders,” he said.

Harris' research has been published in several academic journals including the Journal Organizational Behavior, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal of Organizational Psychology and Personnel Review. He hopes to use his international expertise in the classroom and in his research.

"Dr. Harris impressed us with his broad knowledge of the multiple disciplines encompassed by our department, particularly human resources and strategy. This is critical for the department, as Dr. Harris will be able to teach a variety of courses. With the department encouraging experiential learning, Christopher can contribute toward that effort because he is comfortable with using case studies, group work, classroom activities, current events, and projects applied to their place of work or industry, including a compensation study to enrich his classroom engagement. He is also very active with research which will benefit the department’s reputation and accreditation," said Jonathan O'Brien.

Priyanka Khandelwal, assistant professor of practice in marketing

Priyanka Khandelwal joins the college with a Ph.D. in media and communication from Texas Tech University, along with an M.A. in sociology from North Carolina Central University and an MBA from the ICFAI Business School in India. Prior to Nebraska, she taught as a visiting clinical assistant professor at the Engler College of Business at West Texas A&M University, teaching topics like integrated marketing, conflict resolution and negotiation, and a graduate seminar in marketing.

“Nebraska is a part of the ‘Silicon Prairie,’ and I had always thought someday I would work in the hub of innovation. I have an entrepreneurial mindset and would like to see classrooms transform into a shared space for innovative ideas and plans too. I would like to hone work-ready skills among students so that they are ready for tomorrow's challenges,” Khandelwal said.

Khandelwal's research interests include marketing communication, consumer behavior, emerging media and research methods. Her research articles appear in publications such as the Journal of Business & Technical Communication, and Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies.

“Priyanka joins us after teaching at other universities. Her industry experience as a market analyst and co-founder of a startup company will be very helpful in the courses she will be teaching,” said Ravi Sohi, department chair and professor of marketing, Robert D. Hays Distinguished Chair of Sales Excellence and executive director of the Center for Sales Excellence.

Jinsook Lee, assistant professor of practice in finance

Jinsook Lee earned her Ph.D. in finance from the University of Iowa, and her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designations. Her research interests include empirical corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.

“Jinsook brings outstanding expertise to the department. She has extensive teaching experience, and we are excited to have her as a professor of practice,” said Richard DeFusco.

She previously served as an assistant professor of finance at Canisius College in Buffalo, New York, where she taught courses in intermediate corporate finance, business analytics and corporate finance.

“With my various background in finance, statistics, and mathematics as well as my CFA designation and industrial experiences, I would like to bring multidisciplinary insights to business courses and use those experiences when teaching finance courses. In addition to teaching goals, my research areas center on corporate finance, debt structure and corporate cash holdings. I would like to continue to work on my research to make contributions to research conducted at the College of Business,” she said.

Laura McLeod, assistant professor of practice in marketing

With more than 20 years of experience in the marketing and sales industry, Laura McLeod returns to the college after working for companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Whole Foods Market and NRC Health. McLeod, who previously taught at the college for five years, earned her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and specializes in marketing communication, consumer behavior, marketing channels and sales communications.

"Laura returns back to the department after a stint in the industry where she trained business development associates on sales techniques. Her several years of marketing experience with Coca-Cola and other companies will benefit the students in the sales and marketing classes Laura will teach,” said Ravi Sohi.

During her time in the marketing and sales industry, McLeod created and developed marketing strategies, developed sales training programs, and worked with clientele to expand brands and reach target audiences. She intends on bringing these experiences into the classroom to create an engaging learning environment.

“I am really looking forward to supporting the goals of the Department of Marketing as we teach and train marketers of the future. I value strong relationships with my students as well as creating experiential learning opportunities so those are two of my priorities for this year and beyond,” she said.

Yuxi Yao, assistant professor of economics

Yuxi Yao earned her Ph.D. in economics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, where she also served as a post-graduate researcher and instructor before coming to Nebraska. Her teaching experience includes courses in statistics, macroeconomic theory and microeconomics.

“I am excited to join the College of Business and looking forward to collaborating with my colleagues. I am a macroeconomist interested in studying the housing markets. I hope my studies on land and housing markets can provide policy guidance on housing affordability issues,” she said.

Her research interests include macroeconomics, housing and urban economics, with research published in Information Systems Research. Yao’s research currently includes projects related to inflation and housing markets as she hopes to contribute to the discussion surrounding high inflation being experienced in the U.S.

“Yuxi Yao’s research and teaching expertise in macroeconomics, and housing and urban economics are an excellent match in the Department of Economics. Her macroeconomic research and experience teaching macroeconomic theory at the graduate level are critical skills,” said Eric Thompson, department chair, K.H. Nelson College Professor of Economics and director of Bureau of Business Research. “Her research in housing economics includes examining the implications of the housing market for the macroeconomy. She joins a cluster of faculty within the department who publish research on urban economics topics.”

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Published: September 1, 2022